This variation is unsurprising, given that Triceratops skulls are large three-dimensional objects, coming from individuals of different ages and both sexes, and which were subjected to different amounts and directions of pressure during fossilization. Triceratops were herbivorous, and because of their low slung head, their primary food was probably low growing vegetation, although they may have been able to knock down taller plants with their horns, beak, and bulk. In , the newly discovered Protoceratops was seen as its ancestor by Henry Fairfield Osborn, [5] but many decades passed before additional findings came to light. While the frills may not have been intended as a defense mechanism, lesions found on Triceratop skulls reveal that these dinosaurs did sometimes fight one another. In Triceratops, the weight of the body was carried by only the first three fingers of the hand, while digits 4 and 5 were vestigial and lacked claws or hooves. A few eutherians are known, being represented by Alostera, [93] Protungulatum, [95] the cimolestids Cimolestes and Batodon, the gypsonictopsid Gypsonictops, and the possible nyctitheriid Paranyctoides. There were as many as 19—26 epoccipitals on the frill. Another peculiarity is that the neck ribs only begin to lengthen with the ninth cervical vertebra. Genus of ceratopsid dinosaur from the late Cretaceous period.
Triceratops horridus cut a formidable figure in the prehistoric landscape due to its enormous head that was ornamented with three horns and a bony frill studded with spikes. With its three sharp horns and spiky head plate, Triceratops horridus must have been an intimidating presence as it trampled across western North America in the late Cretaceous period, some 69 million years ago. Despite its fierce appearance, this famous ceratopsian, or horned dinosaur, was an herbivore. Triceratops, which is Latin for “three-horned face,” was among the last non-avian dinosaurs to evolve before the cataclysmic extinction event that occurred 66 million years ago. Even so, scientists still have much to learn about Triceratops. Read about Triceratops with your kids. The massive Triceratops cut a formidable figure in the prehistoric landscape, stretching up to 30 feet long and weighing six to eight tons. Stout legs helped this quadruped support all that weight as it ambled through the underbrush of North America.
These findings were contested a triceratops years later by Catherine Forster, who reanalyzed Triceratops material more comprehensively and concluded that the remains fell into what species, T. March 19, Mesozoic Era: Age of the Dinosaurs. Alternatively, it may represent a distinct genus of horned dinosaur or a Triceratops with an unusual cranial morphology. Earth and Planetary Science Letters. One skull was found with a hole in the jugal bone, apparently a puncture wound sustained while the animal was alive, as indicated by signs of healing. Bibcode : Sci Dinos diet Birds.